Door construction for refractory-furnace drums



H. M. ST. JOHN DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR REFRACTORY FURNACE DRUMS Filed Oct.10, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 27 I924. 1,495,453

H. ST. JOHN DOOR QONSTRUCTIOMFOR REFRACTORY FURNACE DRUMS.

Filed Oct. 10, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 27, 1924.

WED ST HARRY M. ST. JOHN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

DOOR. CONSTRUCTION FOR REFRACTORY-FURNACE DRUMS.

Application filed October 10, 1922. Serial No. 593,645.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY M. ST. JOHN,

ful Improvement in Door Constructions for' Refractory-Furnace Drums, anddeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a door construction for refractory furnacedrums, and has for its object an improved organization of parts by meansof which the charging door or aperture of the drum may be effectivelyclosed while the metal-treating operation is in progress, and yet madeavailable for easy opening and even removal when the rechargingor'cleaning of the interiorof the drum becomes necessary.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the door in closed positionrelatively to the surrounding furnace wall, which is indicated fragmentarily.

Figure 2 is a plan view from above, bring ing out particularly therelative positioning of the hinges and of the door frame.

Figure 3 is a side sectional elevation, taken through the broken line 33of Figure 1, showing the door in closed position in full lines and inopen position in dotted lines.

The conditions of use of a refractory metal-treating furnace,particularly a rotatable or rockable one, involve as a prime necessitythe firmness and tightness of closure of the door when the furnace is inuse; at the same time the easy opening or removal of the door forcharging or cleaning the furnace interior is equally important, andbecause of the intense heat developed within the furnace drum, it issimilarly essential that the interior heat-facing portion of the door beformed of an appreciable thickness of refractory material, held in placehowever, by an exterior metal shell which easily lends itself tomechanical fastening and handling. Furthermore, the entire removal ofthe door under certain conditions renders highly desirable the use of aneasily detachable hinge construction.

To this end I have devised the improved construction herein. disclosed,consisting of a refractory drum or wall A, having its edges about thecharging aperture suitably armored, as by the frame B, to preventabrasion and to supportthe necessary hinging and locking members. At thetop of the door frame the metal is formed into two or more pairs ofprojecting knobs C, which support the horizontal pins or bars D, whichare so positioned relatively to the extreme outer edge of the frame B,and to the complementarily shaped door shell E, that when the door is inthe closed position shown in full lines in Figure 3, the nose G of thehinge hook F overengages each pin D to such an extent that the doorcannot be removed by a straight horizontal move outwardly. In thisposition the shell E holds the refractory inner facing H of the door insuch position that its upper and inner point J cooperates with the noseG in affording a mechanical locking against undesired dismounting of thehinges. When,

however, the door is swung to the dotted line position shown in Figure3, the point J ofthe refractory lining H is swung so far away from thead acent overengaging edge of the furnace wall proper, that the door maynow be lifted upwardly and outwardly' sufficiently to terminate theholding engagement of the nose G over the pin D of each hinge. When thereplacement of the door is desired, a reversal ofthis operation isnecessary, that is, the door must be moved into position relatively toits hinges in the oblique manner indicated by the dotted lines in Figure3, until the nose of each hook F engages over the pin I); the lower edgeis then swung about each pin I) as a rotative center until the doorattains the closed, fullline position shown, when the upper edge J againfunctions cooperatively with the other parts described in preventing thedismounting of the door from its hinges.

As shown in Figure l particularly, the door may thereafter be lockedagainst opening by inward swinging of the cam pieces K, which arelocated on each side of the frame B, preferably mounted upon suitablebrackets L. The opening of the door, when a charge of metal is to beinserted, may be effected by inserting a hoisting chain or the hookedend'of a draw bar in the loop M. In some positions of the door,particularly as it is about to be opened after the plastered-up edgingshave been broken, itis advisable to start lifting it by inserting drawbars in one or both of the obliquely positioned sockets B.

As brought out in Figures 1 and 3, the pouring spout Q projects from thefurnace frame below the door aperture, being blocked up and sealedagainst egress of the molten metal until the mass is ready for the drumto be tilted for pouring. It will be noted, from an examination ofFigure 1, that the metal shell E of the door is cut away immediatelyabove the pouring spout as at T, exposing the refractory lining Haccording ly. While not essential, I have found this to be frequ ntlydesirable to prevent injurious heating of the metal frame due to itsproximity to the stream of molten metal when the spout is opened.

W hat I claim is:

1. In combination with an apertured refractory furnace wall and anencircling metallic frame therefor, a door comprising a metallic frameand an interiorly extending refractory lining, the upper edge of saiddoor frame being formed into overe1'1gag ing hook portions adapted toengage complcmentari'ly located supporting rods on said metallic frame,which, in coope'ation with -the closefit of the surrounding edges of theapertured furnace wall about the edges of the refractory lining of thedoor when in closed position, serve to prevent displacement of said hookportions from their sup porting rods.

2. In. combination with an apertured furnace wall and a metallic doorframe located in bordering position thereabout, a plurality ofhorizontally positioned hinge stems on the upper edge of said doorframe, a metallic door provided with an intcriorly projecting refractoryfacing adapted to it closely within said door frame and its surroundingrefractory furnace wall, and-hook members located on the upper edge ofsaid door in corresponding positions to the hinge stems on the doorframe, adapted to interlock therewith against lifting removal of thedoor except when the latter is swung to open position.

3. The combination, with an apertured furnace wall, of a metallicbordering frame having itsupper edge formed to support hinge bearings, ametallic door shell having on its upper edge bearing hooks con1-plementarily positioned with respect to said hinge bearings which arecapable of being made to engage and be disengaged from the same onlywhen the door shell is in predetermined oblique position, and arefractory inner facing for said door, having its upper shoulder adaptedto cooperate with the bordering frame in preventing the dismounting ofthe door when in substantially vertical position.

In combination with an armoring door frame, a metallic door providedwith a refractory inner facing adapted to lit closely within said doorframe, and separable hinge members whose parts are carried by said doorframe and by said metallic door respectively, and with which saidrefractory inner facing is adapted to cooperate, by engagement againstthe surrounding edges of said door frame, in preventing thedisassociation of said hinge members and the consequent dismounting ofthe door except when the door is raised to a predetermined obliqueposition.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses HARRY M. ST. JOHN.

lVi tnesses WVILLIAM M. SWAN, V .lnrrnnsox G. Tl-IURBER.

